A new report released by As You Sow and the Container Recycling Institute found that major U.S. beverage companies fail to be involved in beverage container recycling and use recycled content in containers. "Waste and Opportunity: U.S. Beverage Container Recycling Scorecard and Report" found that Pepsi and Coke just barely received passing grades of "C," as the other industries received poor or failing grades. Performing worst were Cadbury Schweppes (Dr. Pepper, Snapple), Cott, and National Beverage (Shasta, Power Blast). Coke did fail in the recycled content category, receiving a "D" grade.

Sales of beverages, especially bottled water, are increasing, while recycling rates plummet. "Waste and Opportunity: U.S. Beverage Container Recycling Scorecard and Report," the result of a year of original research, evaluates use of recycled content in bottles by beverage companies and demonstrated commitment to container recovery efforts.

Another significant finding is that increasing the recycling rate could reduce greenhouse gases equivalent to taking 2 million cars off the road. The industry opposes successful collection options like container deposit legislation but proposes nothing in its place, which is not a responsible corporate position.